


Dominate

by frecklesdotface



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 21:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19185586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frecklesdotface/pseuds/frecklesdotface
Summary: Ladybug is dead. Ladybug...is dead. But, she had a plan, a plan for Paris before she died. And that plan was Bridgette Cheng.





	1. Chapter 1

"LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug cries. A ladybug statue falls into her hands, except this ladybug did not look like her. The statue is dressed in a hoodie, leggings, and sneakers. Her hair is pulled into two tiny buns that sit at the bottom of her head. Two ribbons stick out from the bun and a mask wraps around her head. "What am I supposed to do with this?" Ladybug asks, quirking an eyebrow at the statue.

"You should watch your back, Ladybug!" Lila cries from behind.

Ladybug leaps out of the way of Lila's attack, staring warily at the sword in her hand. Ladybug tosses the statue away, summoning another object to her hand. A rope this time, and it's sticky. "Huh, these powers have a real way of being direct, don't they?" She mutters, jumping back as Lila swings her sword.

Lila glares, holding her weapon in front of her before racing after Ladybug once again.

Chat Noir jumps into action. He parries Lila's sword with his baton, quirking an eyebrow at her as if to dare her to take another step. Lila groans, stabbing at Chat Noir who easily dodges. He flips over her body, swinging his baton at her legs. Lila easily dodges, stumbling out of his way. His sights settle on Ladybug. She's taking her time, but he doesn't know how much of it he can buy. Chat Noir blocks the sword coming down on him. He tumbles out of the way as his enemy swings low. He stands up on his feet, jumping back to dodge a swing from Lila. Her hand shoots out, a beam of glowing light shoots out and attaches itself to Chat Noir. It yanks him forward. He stumbles, unable to dodge the punch to his face. Chat Noir staggers backward, but Lila isn't done. She swings his body around. He flies into a building, crashing to the ground as if he's made of nothing. The male superhero struggles to stand up, his head spinning as he tries to focus his sights. It's hopeless, he nearly collapses. Lila steps toward Chat Noir.

"Hey Butterfly!" Ladybug's voice rings through the air.

Lila turns her attention to the superheroine. She thrusts her hand out, the beam stretching towards Ladybug. She rolls out of the way, the beam reaching across the empty space that once held the heroine. Ladybug races across the buildings, throwing out her yo yo to a lamp post as she swings above Lila to the next building over. "If you want my miraculous, come get it!" She challenges.

Lila shakes her head, "You'll regret it, Dupain-Cheng!"

Ladybug frowns. She looks away, a sadness unread in her eyes. Then her eyes glass over and she turns back to Lila, a smirk befalling her features, "I doubt I will." Then she swings away through the streets of Paris with her new enemy following close behind. Eventually, Ladybug leads Lila into a clearing. There in the center sits the rubble of what's left of the Eiffel tower. Ladybug stares longingly at it, nearly losing focus before she breaks from her thoughts.

She watches Lila leap over the polka dot rope she laid as a "tripping wire". Then Lila slides against the ground, on oil she didn't notice before, into what looks like more rope intertwined as if it's a spiderweb. Ladybug had laid out in order to trap her. She reaches out, her light beam attaching to the heroine. Before Ladybug knows what's happening she's being pulled back by the beam and right into the sword that reaches through the rope.

She gasps, bitter blood gurgling in the back of her throat as Lila grips her shoulder tightly. Ladybug's body shifts forward but the hand on her shoulder holds her back. Lila leans forward and whispers into her ear, "I told you you'd regret it." Lila reaches up, her hand nearly pulling out Ladybug's earring before Chat Noir shoves Lila out of the way.

He stumbles forward, his legs shaking as he struggles to stand. He leans on his baton for balance, glaring at Lila furiously. Tears slither down his face as he raises his baton, staggering forward.

"The emotions coming from you are strong," Lila muses, raising her hand as a butterfly flutters to her side. "Should I make you my servant, Agreste?" 

"I dare you to try," Chat Noir growls. He tries to race forward, but only falls forward on his face. A loud sob wracks his body as Lila walks closer to him. She reaches down only for Chat Noir to swat her hand away. He struggles to his knees, just in time for Lila's heel to ram into his cheek, rendering the hero unconscious. She chuckles, slipping his ring from his finger and onto her own. She stares down at his unconscious form. Adrien Agreste, the boy she's been chasing after since she was 14. But who needs a super model when you're a powerful heroine. Lila turns on her heel, walking towards Ladybug whose body has crumbled to the floor. Except, she's detransformed. All that's left is Marinette. Lila uses her heel to turn the groaning woman towards her. She stares apathetically down at Marinette's scrunched up face, contorting to reflect her pain as she holds her side. Lila bends down, examining Marinette's ears for a second before taking the sword she holds and slamming it into Marinette's stomach. She cries out, tears pouring down her face.

"Where is your miraculous?" Lila growls.

Marinette smiles faintly, "Not here."

Lila twists the sword. Marinette groans. 

"I won't ask you again," She says harshly.

Marinette pants heavily. She can hardly breathe, choking on the blood flooding her lungs. "Fuck you," She says shakily.

Lila screams, grabbing Marinette's head. She raises it and slams it into the ground. Marinette's twitching body stiffens before her whole body relaxes. Lila blankly stares at Marinette's lifeless gaze. She stands, removing her sword and sheathing it. Lila walks away, disappearing into the alleyways of Paris. It's a new era for Paris, and everyone better be prepared or they will perish.


	2. Chapter 2

Ladybug is dead. Ladybug...is dead. Marinette is dead.

Bridgette stares at the screen blankly as she sits in her black dress. A hand presses down on her shoulder, but Bridgette doesn't even look up. She knows it's her Uncle Tom. She knows he's fighting back tears just as much as she is. Adrien seats beside her, he pats her shoulder before leaning back on the couch. No one knows what to say. No one knows what to think. Bridgette, however, Bridgette knows the truth. Lila killed Ladybug. Lila killed Marinette. Bridgette felt herself fade into the white noise of the world, her mind fuzzy almost as if this is all a dream. She wishes it was.

Bridgette stands, walking up the stairs on shaky legs. She tries to hold back her tears a second longer, but can't help the sobs that wrack her body. Tom and Sabine soon rush up the stairs to comfort her, wrapping their arms around her weak body.

Bridgette, Sabine, and Tom, will never be the same again.

...

1 month later

"Mayor Bourgeois! Mayor Bourgeois! What do you have to say about the Akuma attacks that have been ravaging Paris?"

"Uh-We are-We are working on it right now. Don't worr-"

"What about the millions being spent on medical expenses or rebuilding the city?"

"Uh-destruction is happening faster than we can build, but we are working with the president to discuss better op-"

"What do you have to say about the fact that the same akuma seems to be scourging Paris?"

"Uh-Yes-"

"Are you working on figuring out the identity of these akumas?"

"Uh-"

"Mayor Bourgeois! Are you investigating this new hawkmoth?"

"Mayor Bourgeois! How do you expect to protect Paris from this threat when Ladybug is dead and Chat Noir is nowhere to be found?"

"Mayor Bourgeois-"

"That is all the questions the Mayor will be taking for now!"

Bridgette turns off the tv. She finishes tying her converse before pulling on a dark blue hoodie. She catches a glimpse of her balcony doors out of the corner of her eye.  She straightens her back, turning to stare at the mess that is Paris. While some buildings still stand, some are being rebuilt across the street from her, and the once prominent buildings have disappeared from view. The sky is gray today, but it doesn't take a gray sky to know the fear floating in the air of Paris. No one says anything about it, but it's felt in the bones. The feeling of doom as akuma attacks grow more frequent. Everyone knows they're not safe. Even those in the richer parts of Paris.

"You could stop this, Bridgette," Tikki's voice calls out. "I can take you to Master Fu and we can train you."

Bridgette's heart aches. She shakes her head. She grabs her hobo bag from off the floor and slings it on her shoulders.

Tikki flies in front of Bridgette, "Why Bridgette?" She asks, her wide blue eyes pleading the girl.

"Marinette can save Paris herself when I get her back," Bridgette says, pushing past Tikki and towards her door. Tikki stares helplessly at the girl as she slams the door. Tikki wishes Bridgette had never found out about the bunny Miraculous. At least then this whole situation would be easier. Maybe she herself is a little relieved Bridgette won't become Ladybug. Then it wouldn't be real. No one wants this to not be real more than her, but everyone must move on for the sake of Paris.

...

Bridgette sprints down the street, her heart racing as her hobo bag bounces against her thigh. The sun glares down on the streets today, glinting off the tools being used to repair buildings. She pauses, getting a good look at all them. None of them look like how they used to. Some are broken, some are no more, and some appear to be brand new. She glances down at her hands, caked in paint. Paris never was the same after Marinette died. Nothing was. The new Hawkmoth, or the Monarch, has continued to terrorize the city for the past month, and Marinette's was not the last life lost.  Bridgette starts running again.

She remembers the night Tikki showed up at her window with the earrings in her tiny arms. She told Bridgette everything. That night Bridgette learned so much more about her cousin and her boyfriend than Bridgette anticipated. After hearing about all the clues leading Chat Noir and Ladybug to the new hawkmoth, it didn't take Bridgette long to figure out it was Lila. That night always trails through her head like a lingering foul smell. She tries her best to ignore it, but it always prods at the back of her head. She should've helped Marinette. She should've been there.

A week later, Tikki somehow managed to drag Bridgette to Master Fu's for training, but Bridgette didn't stay long, not after she found out about the bunny miraculous and its time traveling powers.

Ever since then she's analyzed her brain for hours, thinking through every single detail in her head in order to find the X factor. The thing that would help Bridgette prevent Marinette's death. She'd lie awake every night. Uncle Tom and Aunt Sabine have grown quite worried of her, noticing the visible bags under eyes, and how she doesn't seem to have the same smile as before. But Bridgette knows everything will go back to how it used to be when she finally rescues her cousin from her ill-fate. That's why all this torture will be worth it.

Bridgette comes to a stop when she reaches the street where her school once stood. She nearly topples into it's rubblel. It was destroyed yesterday. The education board is scrambling to figure out what to do with the students in the mean time. Luckily, the construction crew hasn't reached the building yet. Bridgette fans herself, pulling on her sweat slicked shirt as she cools off. After a few minutes, she finally reaches into her hobo bag and pulls out a red can of spray paint. She gets to work on the rubble, painting a red background. Then the next part is the bubble letters written in black the dribble down its rough surface. Bridgette steps back, wiping her forehead as she stares at the sign, 'Ladybug Lives'. Paris is a hopeless hellscape, and Bridgette is not going to let Lila succeed in striking fear into anyone's hearts. These paintings feel more like a big middle finger to the Monarch than anything. In a way, it's therapeutic. Bridgette digs out her stencil, placing it carefully against a flatter part of the rubble. She gets to spraying, when she's finally done, the painted face of Ladybug sits between two letters, staring fiercely into the sky. Her gaze is certain, seeming to dare any villain to come her way. 

At least Bridgette won't forget Marinette's face this way.

"What mischievous acts are you up to Ms. Cheng?" A familiar voice calls out.

Bridgette looks up. She finds Felix, sitting casually in the rubble on a jutting piece of wall. He flips through his latest book, Jane Eyre. He was always a sucker for the classics, wasn't he? Bridgette feels a smile flicker on her face. At least some things never change. She turns back to her work.

"Why don't you waste your time on that brother of yours and getting him back on the streets?" Bridgette questions, shaking another bottle of spray paint, this time green.

"I would if he hadn't lost the ring," Felix says, flipping another page. He looks up for a second, "But if I had any interest in aforementioned subjects you would see me reading the same book I was last week."

"I know," Bridgette mumbles, "I'm just tired of you checking up on me. I'm not a kid," She says, laying out a new template for Chat Noir.

"And to think you used to follow me around," Felix snorts.

Bridgette shoots him a glare. He only smirks at the glance. "Again, maybe you should waste your energy on that brother of yours. Heard he got into a little trouble at the bar last night," She grunts, leaning over the rubble to spray the template.

"My brother is always in trouble. He always figures out how to pull himself out," Felix retorts. He observes his friend carefully. He's not so sure about her though.

Bridgette didn't realize that this was Felix's way of showing he cared. It wasn't her fault, he never really had the guts to tell her. Felix snaps his book shut when Bridgette finally pulls back from her "canvas". She smiles, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she observes her finished creation. Chat Noir stands beside Ladybug with his baton raised, ready to fight evil with his powers of chaos.

Felix feigns disinterest but quietly observes the work of art for himself out of the corner of his eye. It is beautiful. He always found classical paintings quite tiresome, he found Bridgette's work to remain intriguing and thought-provoking. Her colors were always bright and loud. Maybe she wrote messages, but they weren't always as simple as the words. There was always something more. 

"I wrote you a love letter," Bridgette says in the silence.

"Oh?" Felix asks, acting surprised even though this is their daily routine. He is surprised Bridgette is still blushing, however. Thousands of her love letters clutter his room, each one different from the last, yet she still finds herself embarrassed by it all. It's interesting to say the least. "Just so you know, I'm not going to read this," He says stubbornly, taking it tenderly from Bridgette.

She smirks, "Sure, just like always. That's how I like it."

Felix stuffs the love letter in his pocket, glancing away to hide any form of fondness on his face. He puffs out his chest and crosses his arms, "I'm not lying," He grumbles, making sure to reinforce his lie.

Bridgette hums in agreement, but Felix can't help but think it's sarcastic. Regardless of the fact, Felix reaches for the chocolate milkshake he ordered for Bridgette. He hands it to the frantic girl who gratefully sips from the cold drink.

"Just so you know, it was a mistake," Felix reminds, lying straight through his teeth.

"Whatever you say Mr. Perfectionist," Bridgette says.

The blonde boy jolts when he receives a notification from his phone. He sighs, wishing he could stay a little longer. However, the Gorilla is looking for him, and he doesn't want to be responsible for whatever makes him angry today. Felix stands up on the rubble, "It was fun, Ms. Cheng," He farewells.

"Ha! So you admit it!" Bridgette cries.

Felix stares at the smiling girl who points at him. She bounces on the balls of her feet happily. Felix rolls his eyes, "Barely," He says.

"You love me!" Bridgette cries.

"I appreciate your presence," He retorts.

Bridgette's smile widens, "You love me."

Felix rolls his eyes, turning around he walks away, crossing over the rubble to the street ahead of it. Bridgette watches Felix disappear over the mound of destruction. She waves until she's certain he's gone. Then her expression falls. She's met with an overwhelming wave of emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Gravity seems to drag down on her muscles, causing her to stumble into the rubble. The 2 hours she got the night before must be catching up to her, and she has yet to eat breakfast. But she needs to hurry and save Marinette as soon as possible.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I might go back and edit this more, but this is as good as it's gonna get for now so here you go.

Bridgette makes it to Master Fu's in no time. She fidgets with excitement as she comes upon the massage shop. She practices the lines in her head. Everything she'd say to get Fu to reveal the miraculous to her. Then she'd snatch the bunny miraculous and make a run for it.

Then suddenly the door to the massage shop busts wide open with Master Fu flying through it and onto the street. A girl with bright pink hair pulled into twin ponytails and a fluffy, Victorian dress steps out. She gracefully twirls the parasol in her hand as she smirks down at the destruction she's caused.

Master Fu lays groaning on the floor, rolling onto his stomach. He tries to get up, but he freezes and then collapses.

"Now, Fu, you're gonna stop playing games with me," Lady Pistolet says in a thick english accent. She closes her parasol, morphing it into a bright pink gun, taking aim of the old man's back. She chuckles,"-or else."

Bridgette rushes to Master Fu's side, shielding his body from the pathway of the bullet.

Lady Pistolet lowers her gun, "Get out of the way, girl," She sneers.

"NO!" Bridgette cries defiantly, "You're not gonna hurt the Master!" 

The akumatized woman glares. Her face glows with the butterfly symbol, she whispers something under her breath. "Alright," She finally says loudly, "If a fight is what you want-" Lady Pistolet twirls her gun back into a parasol, "-then a fight is what you'll get!" She cries, launching herself at Bridgette. She swings her parasol as the girl flips backward, dodging the attack of the umbrella.

That umbrella took out a building in one tap. Imagine what it'd do to the human body. Bridgette sprints in the other direction, towards the massage shop. Then a hand grabs her collar. She chokes as she's swung back into the wall behind her. She collapses to the ground, huffing and puffing for air. Her back sparks with pain as she struggles to her feet. Lady Pistol slams her foot into the wall beside Bridgette's head. Looking up, Bridgette's sights find the deranged smirk of the akumatized girl.

Lady Pistolet squints at her and begins to laugh, "I know you!" She cries, "You're that Marinette girl's little cousin!" She points at Bridgette, "And the same dumbass writing 'Ladybug Lives' on everything. What a miserable girl!" She laughs. Then the butterfly symbol surrounds her face, interrupting her laughs. Her jaw drops slightly and her eyes widen, "Unless..." She trails off, muttering under her breath, "You're the new Ladybug aren't you?" She says loudly. Then she glares. "Now we can't have that." Her parasol turns into a gun as she takes aim.

Bridgette is frozen in place. "I-I'm not-" She says weakly.

Lady Pistolet fiddles with the trigger of her gun. 

"Then whose the Ladybug that lives?" She questions with a smug smile.

A thin, wire wraps around the pink weapon and rips it from grasp. A girl dressed in red and black dots flies downward, her fist landing on Lady Pistolet's cheek. She rolls on the ground, preparing for another attack as Lady Pistolet staggers back.

Bridgette's eyes widen, staring at the Ladybug that's not her or Marinette. She has long hair tied into pigtails at the bottom of her head. A long, red, ribbon trails down her back, shining against her polka dot jacket and black suit that arches into red legs. 

"I am," The new Ladybug growls. She bounds forward, sliding on her knees to dodge a punch from the akuma. Attempting to sweep the Lady's legs out from beneath her, Ladybug swivels on her knee. Lady Pistolet dodges, leaping backwards. The polka-dot heroine leers, grabbing her yo yo. She swings it, wrapping it around Lady Pistolet's arm before standing. Making sure the wire is taut before she spins, dragging Lady Pistolet in a circle. The akuma collapses to the ground in an exhausted heap.

Ladybug walks towards the collapsed villain, swinging her yo-yo around threateningly. She comes to a stop when the tip of her foot taps the gun on the ground. Ladybug slams her foot down onto the akumatized object, and wordlessly captures the akuma. She snaps open her yo-yo and watches the white butterfly flutter away. Then she throws her yo yo in the air and cries, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Bridgette stares, wordless as the ladybugs swarm the city, repairing all that Lady Pistolet broke, which wasn't much considering she's a fairly new akuma. The ladybugs swarm Bridgette last, their presence warm against her skin as she feels her bruises heal from the power of creation. Her eyes find Ladybug, who stares at her with a grieving gaze. 

The girl who was once Lady Pistolet, stands on shaky knees. Her plain brown hair, greasy white shirt and shorts, and bare feet, revealed to them for all the world to see. She is a pitiful sight, but she doesn't stay long. She didn't want to. In a single moment, the girl races away, leaving Bridgette and Ladybug with a passed out Master Fu.

Bridgette squeezes her eyes shut and prays for the best. "How did you get the Miraculous?" She questions in a shaky voice. The pause Ladybug takes heightens the fear inside Bridgette. She couldn't know if Sabine or Tom was okay. She wants to believe so.

"Tikki came to me. Go...get the miraculous and protect them. I'm going to help with Fu," Ladybug whispers in a broken voice.

Bridgette nods silently. She stands on shaky legs, and staggers towards the massage shop. Everything she's ever wanted waits for her inside. She'll take hold of the bunny miraculous, and she'll free her cousin from her ill-fate.

Before she knows it, she stands in front of the mahogany box. She opens it and looks inside. There sits the 19 miraculous, waiting for someone to take hold of them. Maybe she'll regret abandoning the timeline and tricking Ladybug in order to go back in time. But she has to do this. Bridgette reaches for the pocket watch on the bottom layer of drawers. 

She stares at the silver watch and traces every detail with her eyes. With every second and tick of the clock, Bridgette's certainty grows. Then a tiny gray rabbit zips out from the miraculous and appears in front of her. Rather than angry, she looks excited.

"Ah!" She cries in a blissful tone, "I'm finally out!" She zips around the room, taking in her surroundings with vigor-filled curiosity. Once she's finished making her rounds, she faces the door and smiles wistfully. She turns, nearly zooming into Bridgette's nose, "You must show me this amazing world of yours!"

Bridgette simply backs away, "We don't have time to stall," She grunts, which is an unusual attitude about Bridgette that went unnoticed by Fluff. She nears Bridgette, curious but cautious about her intentions.

"Hey, why exactly have I been summoned?" She questions slowly.

"To bring back Ladybug," Bridgette replies. Before Fluff can respond, Bridgette holds up the pocketwatch, and cries, "Transform me!"

And so she transformed, watching as a new fabric coated her frame. A blue skirt blossoms from her waist as two blue puffy sleeves connect to a sweetheart neckline. The main body is colored white, matching her white tights and the puffballs attached to blue flats. Bridgette's hair is lifted into a ponytail, and two bunny ears spring from the top of her head as she twirls to life a blue parasol. She smirks.

"Now...how do you work?" She raises her hand, feeling the tingles of the miraculous's power on her finger tips before a shining, blue, portal, bursts to life in front of her. Her eyes widen, finding everything that has happened unreal.

Is she really doing this? Is she going back in time? To save Marinette?

This...this is her chance. She feels a smile stretch her muscles. This time, it's real. No faking. No trying. Pure hope floats in the form of a blue portal standing in front of her. And for the first time, no one can take it away. She runs and leaps through into the unknown. 

The leap through the portal is disorienting. She goes flailing through white space, different scenes in time rapidly passing her vision. Her breath is lost in the butterflies that flutter in her stomach. She tries to blink away the spinning of the room, and she nearly blacks out from all the images blasting her at once. Bridgette's mind staggers from idea to idea, trying to figure out how to make the continuous falling stop. Until, she passes a Bunnix. She notices different Bunnix's of all kinds from different times leaping to and fro. Jumping from portal to portal. But they aren't falling.

They're floating.

She hears snorting as she passes another set of Bunnixes, "Someone's not cent-"

Of course. She doesn't know why, but this falling sensation is due to her unfocused state. All she has to do is re-center. 

Bridgette closes her eyes. She tries to breathe. She tries to focus, and slow the pace of heart, but she can't. Her mind races with bewilderment.

What if she can't save Marinette? What if she never gets to where she needs to go? What if she falls for forever? What if she dies trying to save Marinette? And what is up with this place? Where does it exist in time? And _why_ is she falling? What does that have to do with anything?

All these questions leave her so disordered it makes it hard to breathe, much less focus. But she has to find a way to center herself, for Marinette.

Marinette.

What was that breathing technique Marinette taught her?

It was after her parents died. It was after she stared at the rubble where her parent's body lied. It was after the funeral when their caskets were lowered into the ground. It was in the tiny, cramped, office that was converted into a bedroom. It was after the long night of shouting and crying between Aunt and Uncle. It was in the dead of night. When silence finally lived within the house, but silently so did the pain. When she ached so violently inside, that she bit her lip to hold back her sobs and her quiet hyperventilating. Her pajama pants were wet and frayed with chew marks from the many times Bridgette tried to silence herself. And no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop her disoriented feelings. The questions, the concerns, the worry, and the hurt all hit her in a single raging storm. And it had been like this for quite some time. And dark circles formed under her eyes, as she couldn't sleep a wink for the past two days. It was then, Bridgette heard her white door, creak open slowly. Bridgette could see the faint outlines of the couch behind Marinette's frame. She was about to graduate secondary school, and she must've had a test to study for, for Bridgette could think of no reason her cousin would be up at such an hour. And Bridgette didn't ask, but Marinette sat on the edge of Bridgette's bed. She watched Marinette whose mface completely fell, and tears began to pour down her cheeks.

"This sucks, doesn't it?" She whimpered in a hushed tone.

Bridgette felt her breath catch. She reached for Marinette's hand and grabbed it. With a single squeeze, Bridgette fell apart. It was the first time anyone had shown her their pain. Aunt and Uncle would fight and try to be strong for her, and Marinette...Marinette locked herself away. But today, today was the first time she'd shown her face to Bridgette since the funeral.

"Yeah," Bridgette said through a quiet sob, "I miss them so bad it hurts."

Marinette nodded along as Bridgette began to sob violently. Her breaths quickened, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find the strength to stop.

Then Marinette touched her shoulder, "Hey-" She spoke softly, "Breathe with me."

Bridgette nodded.

It took time but she eventually got her breaths to normal as she counted.

She inhaled. 1,2,3,4.

She held her breath. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

And she exhaled. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

"Good," Marinette muttered, "Tell me more," she said, "About them."

Bridgette nodded, and though she calmed, she felt her tears blurring her vision. She hugged her pillow close as she recounted her life with her parents and all her favorite moments.

"I miss Mom's singing in the morning, and the way Dad used to embarrass us when a good song played on the speakers in the store," Bridgette felt her sobbing intensify. She took in a sharp breath, "I miss that Dad used to wake me up by opening the curtains so the sun would shine on my face-" She lets out a small cry, "God, I wished he'd stop doing that." She wiped her eyes, "And I used to be so excited-" Bridgette heaves in,"-to go to the kitchen after getting ready I mean-cause-cause Mom used to make pancakes-" Her voice wobbled as she said, "Delicious pancakes. And Dad used to try to harmonize with her humming, but he was tone deaf," Bridgette chuckled at the memory, sniffling, "Or Mom's library of self-help and inspirational books. She used to try and give them to strangers on the street if she had one on her."

Marinette sniffled, "She told me she'd accidentally bought too may books due to a pyramid scheme and was trying to get rid of them," She laughed with Bridgette, "She tried to sell one to Maman."

"I miss how my mom and dad used to argue about dumb things like if a hot dog is technically a sandwich," Bridgette whimpered, wiping her eyes.

"It is," Marinette added.

Bridgette gave her a pointed look and shook her head, "It isn't," She said.

Together, they watched her Parent's favorite movies and Bridgette recalled all the habits and quirks of her parents that she wished she could have again. She wished her dad would talk loudly about how dumb the main character is, or how her mom would start ranting in Chinese and throw popcorn at the tv screen whenever she got too scared or excited. She recalled her parent's favorite sport was sports in movies, especially the cheesy romance ones. And she missed all these things she once had.

But for the first time in days, Bridgette felt like she could breathe. She felt like things were going to be okay. And that night, she finally slept, wrapped up in Marinette's arms.

She felt...centered.

And like that, Bridgette stopped falling. There she stood in front of a portal, and there, playing across the screen of the portal she'd landed by, was that memory. Bridgette turned. She felt the tingles of the miraculous on her fingertips. And she outstretched her hand and she opened a portal. There, played the scene Bridgette hated to remember the most. The day Marinette died. The day Paris lost Ladybug.

 


End file.
